Looking for names for general amount of monsters. Options

[Brittonic]

Ok, so the title really does not help much XD. What I am looking for is to specifically name a group of creatures. Lets give an example.... you have a make up of Charmander, bulbasaur, Squirtle, pickachu and over 450 monsters all like this... General name = Pokemon. Same with Digimon, etc.
Those being just examples... lame examples, but still it points out what I want.

This said, I really don't care if it works by putting two short versions of two words together. Some names that I have liked so far would be:

- Tane-Tane Beasts
- Wanba

but sound a little..... to original?

I have come up with Conmon (companion beasts)... but REALLY dont like the sound of it the more I say it lol.
Creativity for names is low atm.... just need a hand.

This may even help others out coming up with names. lol.

[Resource Dragon]

- Followers
- Burdens
- lolcats
- pets
- monstrosities
- Ankle Biters
- Any of these in a different language


For some ideas. :]

[Kaust]

- monstrosities

Nice

Yeah the alternate language thing is a good idea, its pretty standard practice for place and character names.
I'd be more inclined to go with a 'pun' name like RD's than sticking 'mon' on the end. However, since you don't want to sound 'too original' then this might be right up your alley. It has the benefit of making their function immediately recognisable I guess.
If they are more animals than monsters (and really all monsters are animals, except, y'know, all evil and stuff), then prefacing with 'ani' might be a way to personalise the 'mon' system slightly.

[TheCableGuy]

If the Monster in question is a Original Monster then naming it can be difficult in many ways while unoriginal Monsters tend to have really unoriginal names.

So think of the way that the people in your game sees Animals/Monsters and try to imagine how they distinguish the two, even going as far as imagining a whole other Language if need be. It helps to think about the language from which the name comes from. Like the name for the Coyote. It's the name for the animal as well as the Trickster in Native American lore so for the Native Americans, there wasn't much of a distinction between the Animal and the Myth.

So, think about your monster/animal and try to "see it for the first time."

[Brittonic]

I'm kinda liking the Monstrosity Idea.....

There are two translations for the word in Spanish and I would have to say the one that sounds half decent was Enormidad....
"Welcome to the world of Enormidad's"
It just... Rings.

I'v been translating Monster, Creature, Animal, etc. Into other languages, but with no real luck.
I'm still accepting Idea's though so feel free to chuck suggestions my way, I'm all ears... While that's going on Im going to be on the hunt for creatures to bring into the game. XD.

[TheBen]

Alternate language is good, but it wouldn't work for every single one in the game. Well, maybe it would, but... eh. Plus changing "zombies" (English) to zombis (Spanish) isn't really helping much.

In general, just think of a name that captures the essence of the game and the monster. If you're working on a mystical fantasy game, then you'll have a different name for the monsters than if you were making a Fallout parody (if such a thing is possible).

[Show/Hide] Let's say you're trying to name a wolf enemy.

HOW DRAGON QUEST WOULD DO IT:
Lobobro (From lobo, Spanish for "wolf" or "werewolf", and bro, Spanish for "gullible". DQ loves puns)
HOW FINAL FANTASY I WOULD DO IT:
Werewolf, Warg Wolf, etc. (Straightforward, descriptive)
HOW FINAL FANTASY XIII WOULD DO IT:
Blargleblarghblah (Some weird/cool-sounding combination of somewhat-valid syllables that ignores the "wolf" part of the name)
OTHER IDEAS:
Wolven (Warcraft?), Megawolf (Great username!)

So it all really depends on the kind of game you're trying to make and kind of enemy you're trying to make.

[Brittonic]

Alternate language is good, but it wouldn't work for every single one in the game. Well, maybe it would, but... eh. Plus changing "zombies" (English) to zombis (Spanish) isn't really helping much.

In general, just think of a name that captures the essence of the game and the monster. If you're working on a mystical fantasy game, then you'll have a different name for the monsters than if you were making a Fallout parody (if such a thing is possible).

[Show/Hide] Let's say you're trying to name a wolf enemy.

HOW DRAGON QUEST WOULD DO IT:
Lobobro (From lobo, Spanish for "wolf" or "werewolf", and bro, Spanish for "gullible". DQ loves puns)
HOW FINAL FANTASY I WOULD DO IT:
Werewolf, Warg Wolf, etc. (Straightforward, descriptive)
HOW FINAL FANTASY XIII WOULD DO IT:
Blargleblarghblah (Some weird/cool-sounding combination of somewhat-valid syllables that ignores the "wolf" part of the name)
OTHER IDEAS:
Wolven (Warcraft?), Megawolf (Great username!)

So it all really depends on the kind of game you're trying to make and kind of enemy you're trying to make.

I'm not worried about naming the monster's themselves. Just the general name of which to call them... I'm not wanting to call them "Monsters" the whole entire game, or "Creatures" or you know... Yah, it's straightforward like Final Fantasy I, would do it (lmao on FFXII XD) but I just want something unique. I'm just looking for a shout out of words I can work on... not a generalized way to name.

I'v been through several words already and I'm running out, that's why I created this post in the forum. Looking for generalized or interesting words or names to go look up and fix. Thanks for Trying to help though XD.

Just think of what Creatures, beasts, monsters, animals and all that jazz make you think of, and post something.... Thats what I need. lol.

[bulmabriefs144]

Many of my game's monsters are references to other stuff, or joke enemies. Not that it matters, since I have Portrait style screens, which don't show enemy names.

Read up on Japanese, Mesopotamian, and Norse legends. All of them have a number of fantastic critters, and interesting names. Also, do research on puns, and see if any appeal to you.

[Brittonic]

^... Post above is exactly what I don't want anymore... I am not naming "SINGLE" monsters... and I naming "THE BUNCH" of monsters....

Like you know how a bunch of creatures all with individual names are called "Pokemon"
Or a bunch of creatures are called "Digimon"
or a bunch of monsters are called "Sentenials"

Etc. Etc.

I just need some words.... Not advice on how to name!..

[Kaust]

I'm sorry, I don't mean to backseat moderate, but I just really dislike that sort of attitude. Both of these people are fairly accomplished developers, and even if they weren't they still took time to give advice. I understand that they didn't give you exactly what you want but its not that hard to at least act a little appreciative, and frankly its your duty to glean whatever information you can from any advice, not only advice that holds your hand and walks you through it.

Example; use Ben's blueprints for making what you want rather than the individual monsters.

Anyways it just seemed a little lame that you were critical that they couldn't provide information that you yourself don't have (thus creating the thread). Its like that old maxim; you can get further with a and a .

[bulmabriefs144]

Well, you weren't clear about this point.

There are a few ways you can do this. Some of which are default.

Default 1: Creature x 2, Critter x 1 (super-lame)
Default 2: Creature Terrain (that is, these are tundra enemies, mark it Tundra 1. Somewhat less lame)

Original 1: Name it after the leader monster's name (Behemoth, when the party contains Behemoth and three spiders. This is pretty good for boss battles)
Original 2: Name it thematically (a bunch of angels, you can call it something like Army of Light)
Original 3: Name it as a tribute to music, film, etc. (for instance, a group of robots you can call Heavy Metal)

Make a loose connection between the type of enemies and what you are trying to portray. Just typing in gibberish doesn't work, you want a sense of the group you're battling.

(And don't worry about it, what makes me more upset is insincerity. People telling me "thanks, that's great, we'll be in touch," and never calling back. I'm actually glad this person told me what they actually meant)

This post has been edited by bulmabriefs144: Mar 11 2012, 07:22 AM

[Essenceblade]

Ah, a generalized group of monsters in which you want to call them, eh?
Well it boils down to the expanse you want to go to give the name its own creative touch. Most people call them monsters or creatures because it's just too tedious naming them anything else. When it comes to naming a generalized group of an entire game's monsters, it takes a bit to make sense. Though by examples it mainly boils down to the game. I.E KH's Heartless.

It could also degenerate from what the games religious beliefs are (If your game has its own faith, or religion, I mean.)

For example if a game was based around a Sun and Moon god. You could base the entire group of monsters on the names like;

Solae
Lunae

And then eventually you branch out to things like

Shiven
Rhvosi
Terruka
Ponvae
Morovii

Or even go for a more complicated

Dos-Menturva
Ern-Movien
Ras-Olifae

... XD

-------

But anyway, it really just boils down to the game and what it's about and what it IS.

Example; Pokemon is called pokemon because;

Poke - Pocket.
Mon - Monsters.

Pokeballs fit in ones pocket or back pocket generally.

Ta-da.